Selective map marker aggregation

ABSTRACT

The selective aggregation of marker objects on a map is disclosed. A plurality of marker objects is received in response to a query. The marker objects are each defined by a set of coordinates to a specific location on the map. The map is segregated into a plurality of bounding areas each defined by a set of bounding coordinates. A bounding area count of the number of marker objects having coordinates within a first one of the bounding areas is generated. The bounding area count is compared to a predetermined threshold. If the bounding area count is greater, a first aggregate marker is displayed in the first one of the bounding areas of the map. Otherwise, each of the marker objects within the first one of the bounding areas of the map is displayed. The marker objects are positioned according to the set of coordinates associated therewith.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to location-based services, andmore particularly to selective map marker aggregation of query resultsof search engines, social networking sites, and other online services.

2. Related Art

Geographic mapping applications are particularly suitable forcomputer-based implementations because of the high volumes of datainvolved, and because interactive graphics display capabilities lendwell to visual map navigation. Accordingly, a wide variety of electronicmapping applications have been developed. Earlier commercially availablemapping applications were offered as standalone products installable ondesktop computers, and included interface software that retrieved anddisplayed map data stored locally on the hard drive, or on an opticalstorage medium such as a CDs and DVDs. Although some specialized GlobalPositioning System (GPS) devices continue to store map data locally,web-based mapping applications are becoming increasingly popular.

In so-called web mapping services, geographic data is stored on a remotedatabase and is retrieved by a web service application that is accessedfrom a client computer system via a conventional web browser. There areseveral advantages to web mapping, chief among these being substantiallydecreased storage requirements on the client side, as well as the lackof a need for the end user to regularly update map data throughpurchased content and the like. Some of the earlier web mapping servicesutilized raster image data, in which each zoom or detail level isrepresented as a series of separate images that was indexed according toa coordinate system. Accordingly, retrieving and rendering maps was acomputationally burdensome process on both the client end and the serverend that was further delayed on a limited bandwidth Internet connection.Conventional web mapping services utilize vector data that is downloadedto the client and rendered by browser-side scripts cooperating with theweb service application. Additional graphical data may be overlaid orotherwise tied to specific coordinates, including satellite imagery,traffic level indicators, street-level perspective images, point ofinterest graphics, and so forth. Providers of web mapping services havealso made available application programming interfaces (API) so thatdata from any other web-based service can be incorporated into maps.

Due to the proliferation of GPS receiver modules in many differentmobile computing platforms including smartphones, tablet devices, laptopcomputers, and the like, user geographic location data has become moreavailable. Several online, web-based social networking sites haveattempted to harness location data for further interactivity and utilityin maintaining online and offline interpersonal relationships.

Generally, social networking involves connecting users with each otherto communicate and share information. Users may establish accounts andcreate profiles containing biographic data such as current location,schools attended, employment experiences, personal relationships, and soforth. Furthermore, various updates of interest with messages,photographs, videos, and links to other sites may be posted on theprofile. Access to this personal information may be limited to those whohave approved and set up links or affiliations with the user account.Depending on preference, information of limited privacy concern may bemade accessible to secondary contact links, or to all users on thesocial networking service. A group of contacts, which can minor theuser's real-life personal network, may thus be established online.

When posting update content in messages, photographs, and videos,concurrently recorded location data may also be posted. The locationdata, in turn, may be utilized by a web mapping service to visuallyrepresent the location of each contact in the user's social network.Even though participation in social networking services throughexchanging content can be enjoyable for its own sake, the capability tofacilitate in-person, real-life interaction continues to be asignificant draw and reason for its popularity, as offline contact oftenproves to be a richer, more rewarding experience.

Besides showing the location of users on social networking sites, theintegration of location data from different sources into a web mappingservice is applicable to other contexts. For instance, a common Internetsearch query relates to finding local businesses with physicalfacilities such as retailers, restaurants, and so forth. Markersoverlaid on locations for businesses corresponding to the search resultsare helpful for quickly visualizing and deciding which (or in whichorder) they can be visited, among numerous other uses.

Visually presenting numerous location point data on a map may bechallenging due to the limited space in which they may be shown. Thisproblem is compounded where numerous query results are returned, and anattempt to render the location point data may result in a disorganizedclutter. Furthermore, the maximum number of location point data that canbe rendered on the map at any given point is also limited by the dataprocessing resources of the client computer system. Some search engineimplementations attempt to break up the results into multiple segments,with only the location point data for a given segment of results beingrendered on the map at any time. Although this may decrease clutter onthe map, a complete picture of the query cannot be visualized. Thenavigation of the query results becomes entirely divorced from thevisual navigation of the map, with the map becoming a mere secondaryindicator that complicates mental process of parsing search queries.Accordingly, there is a need in the art for selective map markeraggregation.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a methodfor selectively aggregating marker objects on a map is contemplated. Themethod may include receiving a plurality of marker objects in responseto a query. The marker objects may each be defined by a set ofcoordinates to a specific location on the map. There may be a step ofsegmenting the map into a plurality of bounding areas. Each of thebounding areas may be defined by a set of bounding coordinates. Themethod may further include generating a bounding area count of thenumber of marker objects that have coordinates within a first one of thebounding areas. Additionally, the method may include comparing thebounding area count to a predetermined threshold. If the bounding areacount is greater than the predetermined threshold, the method mayinclude displaying a first aggregate marker in the first one of thebounding areas of the map. On the other hand, if the bounding area countis less than the predetermined threshold, the method may instead includedisplaying each of the marker objects within the first one of thebounding areas of the map. The marker objects may be positionedaccording to the set of coordinates associated therewith. The presentinvention will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one exemplary environment inwhich various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented,including a client computer system, a web mapping service, and anexternal location data source;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing one method for selectively aggregatingmarker objects on a map;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary web mapping service interface showing a map of ageographical location;

FIG. 4 is the web mapping service interface showing the map withotherwise hidden bounding areas illustrated as broken lines;

FIG. 5 is the web mapping service interface showing the map withaggregate markers and marker objects in accordance with variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is the web mapping service interface showing the map with anaggregate marker together with a marker object in a single boundingarea;

FIG. 7 is the web mapping service interface showing the map with theaggregate markers with additional demographic information thatcollectively represents the individual marker objects therein; and

FIG. 8 is the web mapping service interface showing the map zoomed in onthe first one of the bounding areas, with the selective aggregatingmethod further applied thereto.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and thedetailed description to indicate the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various methods and systems for selective map marker aggregation aredisclosed. Multiple results from a location-based query can beaggregated into a single marker, depending on the number of results thatwould otherwise have been overlaid in a given bounding area on the map.These methods may be implemented as executable software instructions.The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of the several presentlycontemplated embodiments of these methods, and is not intended torepresent the only form in which the disclosed invention may bedeveloped or utilized. The description sets forth the functions andfeatures in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to beunderstood, however, that the same or equivalent functions may beaccomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to beencompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. It is furtherunderstood that the use of relational terms such as first and second andthe like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity withoutnecessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or orderbetween such entities.

FIG. 1 is a generalized depiction of an example networked computingenvironment 10 where the selective map marker aggregation methods andsystems may be implemented. Although specific components thereof aredescribed, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatany other suitable component may be substituted. One component is aclient computer system 12 operated by a primary user 14. The clientcomputer system 12 may be a conventional personal computer deviceincluding a central processing unit, memory, and various input andoutput devices such as keyboards, mice, and display units. The clientcomputer system 12 is connectible to the global Internet 16 via anInternet link 18.

The client computer system 12 is understood to have executableinstructions of a web browser application that are loaded thereon. Theweb browser application communicates with various web servers alsoconnected to the Internet 16 over the hypertext transfer protocol(HTTP), among others protocols known in the art. Requests for data areinitiated by the client computer system 12 and transmitted to theservers, while the server transmits the requested data to the clientcomputer system 12.

Among the services accessible via the Internet 16 include a web mappingservice 20, a social networking service 22, and a search engine 24. Itwill be understood that there are several competing providers for eachof these services, and each generally function in the same way, save fora few feature differences. In further detail, the web browserapplication on the client computer system 12 renders a map generated bythe web mapping service 20 and retrieved from the same. The geographiclocations to show, as well as the detail or zoom level at which suchlocations are shown, are specified through commands and queries issuedvia the web browser application. One of the most popular web mappingservice 20 is the Google Maps though others such as Yahoo! Maps, BingMaps, Mapquest, and so forth are available. The web mapping service 20includes a mapping application programming interface (API) 26 throughwhich additional content may overlaid on the generated map.Additionally, the API 26 can be used to incorporate mapping featuresinto other websites such as the social networking service 22.

The social networking service 22 is understood to facilitate interactiveonline communications between the user 14 and the associated network ofcontacts 28 including a first contact 28 a, a second contact 28 b, and athird contact 28 c, among possibly many others. As indicated above,numerous social networking services are known in the art, and any onemay be utilized in connection with various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, including the previously mentioned Facebook, Google Plus,MySpace, Friendster, etc. Each provides a slightly different userexperience, though there are some key features that are common to all.These commonalities include a specific user account 30 that is assignedto the primary user 14, as well as a viewable profile 32 containingbiographic information and user-generated content 34.

The contacts 28 a-c of the user 14 likewise have corresponding accounts31 a-c on the social networking service 22, along with correspondingprofiles 32 and user-generated content 34. Each of the contacts 28accesses the Internet 16 via a computing device 36, which is similar tothe client computer system 12. In some embodiments, the computing device36 may be a mobile device such as a smart phone, a laptop computer, atablet computer, or the like that has Internet connectivity features.The computing device 36 is understood to have a web browser applicationor other dedicated application for accessing the data stored on thesocial networking service 22, and also capable of rendering mapsretrieved from the web mapping service 20. For purposes of the presentdisclosure, the computing device 36 will be referenced as a specifickind of the client computer system 12, and thus the terms are, for themost part, interchangeable.

Communications between the user 14 and the contacts 28 via therespective profiles 32 can be facilitated in public, semi-private, andprivate settings. The primary user account 30 is linked to the accounts31 a-31 c associated with the contacts 28 a-28 c, such that contentposted to the profile 32 of the primary user 14 is viewable thereby.Depending on the particular service, the feature of postinguser-generated content may be variously referred to as a “wall,” or a“stream.” The user-generated content 34 may be text messages,photographs, videos, and links to other websites on the Internet 16.Additionally, such data may be appended with location data 38. Asindicated above, the social networking service 22 may be accessed by thecontacts 28 with mobile devices, which typically include GPS receiversincorporated therein. The coordinate values corresponding to thegeographical position of the mobile device can be recorded, transmittedto the social networking service 22, and displayed together with theuser-generated content 34. By utilizing the mapping API 26, the locationcan be visualized with a map embedded into the web page of the socialnetworking service 22.

The functionality of the social networking service 22 may be extendiblethrough third party application providers that employ the dataassociated with the user accounts 30 in different ways from the socialnetworking service 22 itself. Accordingly, there is a social networkingAPI 40 that can be accessed by an application provider to access andretrieve the data on the social networking service 22. In addition, thesocial networking API 40 can be used by the application provider togenerate further content for the social networking service 22. As notedabove, the present disclosure contemplates methods and systems forselective map marker aggregation. The web mapping service 20 is used togenerate the map, and the social networking service 22 is used to obtainthe data points for the markers that are overlaid on the marks. Theresultant map can be generated as part of the webpage of the socialnetworking service 22, or alternatively, on a separate independentwebpage. In one embodiment, this feature is provided by an externallocation based service 42 that connects to the social networking API 40and the mapping API 26. It will be recognized by those having ordinaryskill in the art, however, that the functionality may be directlyincorporated into the web mapping service 20, or in the socialnetworking service 22. Although the details of the present disclosurewill be explained in relation to the social networking service 22, it isunderstood that the contemplated map marker aggregation methods andsystems are applicable in other contexts. This includes the searchengine 24, various online review services, or any other online servicethat includes location data which can be visually represented as markerson the map.

Referring now to the flowchart of FIG. 2, the method begins with a step200 of receiving a plurality of marker objects in response to a query.As utilized herein, and in the context of the social networking service22, the marker object is understood to be a data object that is at leastpartially defined by a set of coordinates to a specific location on themap. Furthermore, the data object may include a field identifying theparticular user and the profile 32 to which the location data 38 isassociated. The query may be a general one made to the social networkingservice 22 by the location based service 42 to retrieve the profiles 32of all contacts 28 of the user 14. The query may also be narrower, withonly a subset of the profiles 32 that meet a specified criteria beingretrieved. The particular way in which such queries are directed to thesocial networking service 22 will be recognized by those having ordinaryskill in the art.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary map 46 that depicts a particulargeographic region. Another embodiment envisions the aforementioned queryinvolving the retrieval of marker objects that have coordinates within aregion boundary 48. Thus, the query is matched to the zoom level of themap (map-centric implementation), rather than adjusting the zoom levelof the map to show the results from a query (social network-centricimplementation) as previously described. In either case, a request ismade to a data store for marker objects represented by coordinatevalues.

If it is determined that the region boundary 48 includes too manyretrieved marker objects, i.e., the count of the marker objects withcoordinate values within the region boundary 48 exceeds a certainthreshold, the method continues with a step 202 of segmenting the mapinto a plurality of bounding areas 50, including a northeast boundingarea 50 a, a northwest bounding area 50 b, a southwest bounding area 50c, and a southeast bounding area 50 d. The illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 4 shows that the bounding areas 50 are adjacent to each other, andhave a generally quadrangular configuration. It is also illustrated thatthere are four bounding areas 50 segregated by a vertical boundary line52 and a horizontal boundary line 54, which, like the region boundary48, are not rendered visible to the client computer system 12. It willbe recognized that there may be a different number of bounding areas 50with other shapes, depending on the geography of the region shown on themap. The borders of the bounding areas 50 is shown by way of exampleonly, and in most embodiments this is hidden or rendered invisible onthe map 46.

In step 204, the method continues with generating a bounding area countof the number of marker objects having coordinates within a first one ofthe bounding areas 50, for example, the northeast bounding area 50 a.The step 204 may be repeated for each of the remaining bounding areas 50b-50 c, with a separate bounding area count being generated therefor.Broadly, if the density of marker objects for any bounding area 50 issufficiently low, then each of the marker objects therein can be shown.On the other hand, if the density of marker objects in the particularbounding area 50 is too high, that is, where too much visual clutterwould result by displaying each of the marker objects in that boundingarea 50, they are not displayed and instead represented with anaggregate marker.

With reference again to the flowchart of FIG. 3, the method includes astep 206 of comparing the bounding area count to a predeterminedthreshold value. For each of the bounding area counts generated for thebounding areas 50 a-50 c, this step is repeated. If the bounding areacount is greater than the predetermined threshold, as shown in thenortheast bounding area 50 a of FIG. 5, a first aggregate marker 56 a isdisplayed per step 208. The southeast bounding area 50 d also, by way ofexample, has a bounding area count greater than the predeterminedthreshold value, so a second aggregate marker 56 b is displayed, againaccording to step 208. However, where the bounding area count is lessthan the predetermined threshold value as is the case with the northwestbounding area 50 b, the individual markers 58 a, 58 b are displayed inaccordance with step 210.

The aggregate marker 56 may be implemented in a variety of differentways to convey representative information of its constituent markerobjects. In its simplest form, the aggregate marker 56 is an iconincluding the number of marker objects within the particular boundingarea 50. The first aggregate marker 56 a indicates that there are 124marker objects within the northeast bounding area 50 a, while the secondaggregate marker 56 b indicates that there are 7 marker objects withinthe southeast bounding area 50 d. As will be described more fully below,other information may be included in the aggregate markers 56. By way ofexample, the aggregate markers 56 may be positioned in a central regionof the bounding area 50.

When utilized in conjunction with the social networking service 22, theindividual markers 58 may include a photograph 60 or other identifyinggraphic that is associated with the corresponding user account 31. Themarkers 58 are positioned on the map 46 in accordance with the locationdata 38 associated with the corresponding user account 31. Because thecomparatively large photograph 60 likely would not point to the specificlocation with any degree of precision, it may be embedded within an icon62 having a pinpoint section 64. This is shown by way of example onlyand not of limitation; other implementations may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

In some instances, even when the aggregate marker 56 is generated for agiven bounding area 50, an individual marker 58 may nevertheless bedisplayed. The social networking service 22 stores additional data aboutthe user 14 and the contacts 28 such as the profile 32 and theuser-generated content 34. Where a specific contact 28 is likely to beof interest to the user 14 for one reason or another (for example, theuser 14 and the contact 28 share the same hobby or activity) then themarker 58 therefor can be displayed as illustrated in FIG. 6. Thisdetermination may be based upon the derivation of a relevance value foreach of the profiles 32 linked to the social network of the user 14.Again, although this example is illustrated in the context of the socialnetworking service 22, this feature is also possible for other servicesin which marker objects representative of something other than contacts28 are displayed on the map 46, such as restaurants, retailestablishments, and the like. The particular example shows that thenortheast bounding area 50 a has 124 marker objects, and a particularcontact 28 of interest as indicated by the marker 58 c. In someinstances, any number of additional markers 58 may be generated from arandom selection of profiles 32.

With reference to FIG. 7, several embodiments of the present disclosurecontemplate additional information being provided in the aggregatemarkers 56 in the form of icons, colors, further text-based indicators,and so forth. For example, the first aggregate marker 56 a may includean icon 66 that is representative of some demographic information culledfrom the profiles 32 of those contacts located within the northeastbounding area 50 a. The second aggregate marker 56 b indicates that thesoutheast bounding area 50 d is comprised of 75% males, anotherdemographic data point retrieved from the profiles 32.

When a map zoom command is invoked, the above-described method ofselectively aggregating marker objects including steps 200 through 210is repeated for the new map view. Aside from conventional map navigationinputs to zoom out and zoom in to different views of the map, the mapzoom command may also be invoked via a selection of the aggregate marker56 with a mouse click or the like. By way of example, when the secondaggregate marker 56 b is selected, the view is expanded to show only thesoutheast bounding area 50 d, as shown in FIG. 8. The southeast boundingarea 50 d is then segmented into multiple sub-bounding areas, each ofwhich are defined by a set of sub-bounding coordinates. A count ofmarker objects in each of the sub-bounding areas is generated, and ifthe count for any one of the sub-bounding areas is greater than thepredetermined threshold, then another third aggregate marker 56 c isdisplayed therefor. Otherwise, the individual markers 58 c, 58 d aredisplayed. While the foregoing zooming operation and subsequent markeraggregation process is described in terms of sub-bounding areas, it willbe recognized that such description is for purposes of comparison to theoriginal bounding areas 50 only. Various implementations perform thesame operation recursively on the sub bounding areas as on the boundingareas 50. Accordingly, the same parameters are understood to apply,including the shape and number of bounding/sub-bounding areas.

The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present disclosureonly and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to bethe most useful and readily understood description of the principles andconceptual aspects. In this regard, no attempt is made to show detailsof the present invention with more particularity than is necessary, thedescription taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled inthe art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodiedin practice.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for selectively aggregating markerobjects on a map, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of markerobjects in response to a query, the marker objects each being defined bya set of coordinates to a specific location on the map; segmenting themap into a plurality of bounding areas each defined by a set of boundingcoordinates; generating a bounding area count of the number of markerobjects having coordinates within a first one of the bounding areas;comparing the bounding area count to a predetermined threshold; if thebounding area count is greater than the predetermined threshold:deriving a relevance value for each of the marker objects within thefirst one of the bounding areas based upon data not directly responsiveto the query and is retrieved from a data source using preexisting userdata; displaying a first aggregate marker in the first one of thebounding areas of the map; displaying the marker objects with relevancevalues exceeding a predetermined relevance threshold within the firstone of the bounding areas simultaneously with the first aggregatemarker; and if the bounding area count is less than the predeterminedthreshold, displaying each of the marker objects within the first one ofthe bounding areas of the map positioned according to the set ofcoordinates associated therewith.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thedisplay of the first aggregate marker includes the bounding area count.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first aggregate marker ispositioned on the map in a central region of the first one of thebounding areas.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the map is segmentedinto equilateral quadrants of bounding areas.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein: the plurality of marker objects each corresponds to a userprofile on a social networking site, the user profile including ageographic location value defined in the user profile associated withthe set of coordinates of the corresponding marker object; and the queryis made to the social networking site.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereina one of the user profiles includes an identifying graphic, thedisplayed marker object corresponding to the one of the user profilesincluding the identifying graphic.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein thefirst aggregate marker includes a visual representation of demographicdata derived from a collection of the user profiles of the markerobjects having coordinates within the first one of the bounding areas.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the visual representation of thedemographic data is selected from a group consisting of: color,graphics, and text.
 9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:deriving a relevance value for each of the user profiles; and displayinga one of the marker objects within the first one of the bounding areasof the map positioned in accordance with the set of coordinatesassociated therewith based upon the relevance value therefor; whereinthe first aggregate marker is being displayed in the first boundingarea.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the relevance value is basedupon data from the user profile.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: displaying a one of the marker objects within the first oneof the bounding areas of the map positioned in accordance with the setof coordinates associated therewith based upon a random selection of theone of the marker objects.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: segmenting the first one of the bounding areas of the mapinto a plurality of sub-bounding areas each defined by another set ofsub-bounding coordinates; generating a sub-bounding area count of thenumber of marker objects having coordinates within a first one of thesub-bounding areas; comparing the sub-bounding area count to thepredetermined threshold; if the sub-bounding area count is greater thanthe predetermined threshold, displaying a second aggregate marker in thefirst sub-bounding area of the map; and if the sub-bounding area countis less than the predetermined threshold, displaying each of the markerobjects within the first sub-bounding area of the map positioned inaccordance with the set of coordinates associated therewith.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the first one of the bounding areas of themap is segmented into the plurality of sub-bounding areas in response toa map zoom command.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the map zoomcommand is generated upon user input corresponding to a selection of thefirst aggregate marker.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the boundingarea is segmented into equilateral quadrants of sub-bounding areas. 16.The method of claim 12, wherein the display of the second aggregatemarker includes the sub-bounding area count.
 17. An article ofmanufacture comprising a non-transitory program storage medium readableby a computer, the medium tangibly embodying one or more programs ofinstructions executable by the computer to perform a method forselectively aggregating marker objects on a map, the method comprising:receiving a plurality of marker objects in response to a query, themarker objects each being defined by a set of coordinates to a specificlocation on the map; segmenting the map into a plurality of boundingareas each defined by a set of bounding coordinates; generating abounding area count of the number of marker objects having coordinateswithin a first one of the bounding areas; comparing the bounding areacount to a predetermined threshold; if the bounding area count isgreater than the predetermined threshold: deriving a relevance value foreach of the marker objects within the first one of the bounding areasbased upon data not directly responsive to the query and is retrievedfrom a data source using preexisting user data; displaying a firstaggregate marker in the first one of the bounding areas of the map;displaying the marker objects with relevance values exceeding apredetermined relevance threshold within the first one of the boundingareas simultaneously with the first aggregate marker; and if thebounding area count is less than the predetermined threshold, displayingeach of the marker objects within the first one of the bounding areas ofthe map positioned according to the set of coordinates associatedtherewith.